


Well I Ain't No Old Dog (But I Got A Trick Or Two, Baby)

by Deadly_Sirius



Series: Unfinished Works [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Peter Parker, Bisexual Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes After Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Eventual Fluff, Gay Bruce Banner, Gay Steve Rogers, I cut this part out for now but when the story starts, James Buchanan Barnes Deserved Better, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Wade Wilson, Peter Parker has ADHD, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Deadpool!Wade, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Slow Burn, Spideypool - Freeform, Stucky - Freeform, THIS IS NOT PREDATORY SPIDEYPOOL, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Trans Peter Parker, Wade had just turned 22 and Peter was about to turn 18 in a week, background science boyfriends, background spideypool, bucky's been gone for two years, i mean it's talked about and important but stucky is the main thing, pre-cancer!wade, this is about three years after Civil War, uhhh yeah idk what this fic will be besides angst rn WHOOPS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-08 02:53:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17378228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deadly_Sirius/pseuds/Deadly_Sirius
Summary: James Buchanan Barnes has been fighting to prove himself, fighting to get a word in, fighting to live, since he was born. Those were the cards he was dealt, and he should stop whining his ass off and get working, his mother always said. With younger siblings came mouths to feed, and with mouths to feed and not enough money came a lack of space, privacy, security, and a great deal of pity. And James Buchanan Barnes hated pity.After he swapped the Avengers base for Sister Margaret's, and met Wade Wilson, a man who seemed to know exactly how to fuck up his fairly fucked life, Bucky had to learn how navigate the hurricane that was Steve Rogers."So when I realized I could maybe go back to Bucky Barnes, The Kid From Brooklyn, I took it. I never wanted to break off from you all, I just needed a little space to relearn who I was and what had happened in the past seventy years. I thought you of all people would get that, Steve. But you never called and I realized maybe I'd hurt you. I never meant to."





	Well I Ain't No Old Dog (But I Got A Trick Or Two, Baby)

**Author's Note:**

> Hullo! I've been meaning to write a big Marvel fic for awhile now. Here it is!! It'll mainly be about Bucky, but I love Peter/Wade so that will be important too, as will Tony being a theoretical dad with Bruce. Peter's such a Gen Z bi-trans boy with ADHD andi love him sm. Also, a LOT of credit about how Tony, Shuri, Peter and Bruce are literally the most intelligent people in the world. Uhh, yeah! Enjoy the ride! This will be a long one and idk when it'll end. 
> 
> Also, I've got no clue how the geography of NY works, so there's Manhattan with the S.I. Towers and then somewhere green with the Avengers Base and then Brooklyn and then Queens and then also Sister Margaret's all in the same area because fuck canon, fuck the real world. Enjoy!
> 
> NOTE: Title from Briston Maroney's Hard To Tell.

A slow, deep, painful inhale. A grimace. Lips opening to dodge a wad of blood and spit being shot at the ground. The broken body clambers back upright. He’s still got a few motherfuckers to prove wrong.

James Buchanan Barnes has been fighting to prove himself, fighting to get a word in, fighting to _live_ , since he was born. Those were the cards he was dealt, and he should stop whining his ass off and get working, his mother always said. With younger siblings came mouths to feed, and with mouths to feed and not enough money came a lack of space, privacy, security, and a great deal of pity. And James Buchanan Barnes hated pity.

Which was why he wasn’t a hero, why he wasn’t pitying or saving this young girl. He was simply proving himself to be not someone to mess with to the other dickwads who felt like they owned all of Brooklyn. Five guys on one teenager? That shit wasn’t fair, maybe she did deserve pity, but nobody likes feeling helpless. And so he stepped in without a word and got the creepy men off her tail. He was without his metal arm, or any prosthetic for that matter, and quite rusty. It’d been a few years where he’d been in a real fight, more than just solo missions taking out a few guys or scaring a perv here or there. So what if a few hits landed that shouldn’t have? He was rusty.

She went on to groan and gasp about how he saved her, how he was her knight in shining armor, how she could never repay him, how he was so brave for putting himself in danger—one arm against ten! she cried. How he was her hero. 

That word always made the hairs on the back of Bucky’s neck stand up. Steve was a hero. Clint was a hero. Hell, even Tony was a hero. But Bucky? Impossible. Memories and reminders of all he’d done over the years, of the pain in Tony’s eyes when he found out, the unrelenting anger he still held close to his chest because it was easier than forgiving Bucky, seemed to come out of nowhere when the word _hero_ was uttered to Bucky.

”I’m not your hero,” Bucky muttered to the woman as he stalked away, feeling too visible, feeling as though we was being watched. He chuckled dryly to himself as he thought about that woman. Wade would be proud of Bucky using his slogan, but no doubt would that dickwad be confused as to why he let her go without a wad of cash or her number being handed over.

 

Bucky slouched into Sister Margaret’s, somewhat aggrieved when he realized Wade Wilson was in fact in the bar. And taking the bartender’s full attention.

”Weasel,” Bucky snapped, his palm hitting the wood of the bar hard. “Can I get a drink yet? What the fuck?”

”Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right there,” the man pouted and poured. He said a temporary goodbye to Wade and started making Bucky’s regular. Finally, the man could catch a break.

Until his eyes floated upwards. “What the fuck?!”

Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes was known for many things during his time in the army, but one thing particular from nearly a century ago: he could be dead silent one moment, and roar louder than the sounds of the frontlines the next moment.

The entire bar quieted and meekly looked at the man. A ragged sweatshirt with one arm’s worth of fabric cut off hung from his body. His hair was greasy and uncut out of apathy and disregard for himself and his body. His jeans were newly stained with blood, and the knees were ripped wide open. This man, a hollow of his former self, with half the amount of arms of everybody else in the entire building, still commanded everyone’s respect and fear.

”I dip out.. for three days—three fucking days!—and I find out.. that you fuckers.. are betting on Steve Rogers?!”

A mumble runs through the crowd.

”I mean, who else would we bet on?” Weasel asked with a crack in his voice.

”Uh, how about your old buddy-pal Wade, for starters?”

”Psh, I’m indestructible. The only thing that could take me is cancer, and I’m not a crotchety old grandpa like you, Jamie. I’ve got time before my body kills itself,” Wade joked. He paraded his open pocket knife through his palms to show off, as a woman flipped over a decorated tarot card next to him.

“ _You're_  indestructible? He’s literally a fucking super soldier! He was designed to be a bitch to kill. He’s been around for nearly a century and Weasel looks older than him. I mean, fuck’s sake, people! I thought we would be betting on realistic options here, not humble and respectable men who _can’t fucking die_!”

Nobody moved.

Bucky’s eyes were on fire as he glared down the room, just itching for somebody to say something.

”Well, um, er.. the thing is.. Buck, heh, he’s um.. he’s gotten into a bit of a—well, what one might call a tiff, really—with Tony Stark. That's usually a death sentence.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed in on the man who had spoken instantly. “And what might that argument be about?”

The man didn’t dare speak again. Instead, it was Wade who spoke up, his blade still twirling. “You, Jamie.”

 

* * *

 

The feeling of being around Wade was never a good one. Bucky was always constantly on edge with the self-proclaimed and popularly voted Merc With A Mouth. Wade was slimy and slippery. If you turn your back on him for a second, he’s either snuck out the backdoor, stolen your wallet, or stuck you in the back. If you’re really unlucky, he’d do all three. At barely twenty, he’d already made a name and reputation for himself as someone you don’t fuck with, unless you want to fuck.

So the invitation to visit a high-tension Avengers base camp with a murderer and criminal didn’t give Bucky much confidence. But if what people were saying was true, and Captain America was really fighting with Iron Man over James Buchanan Barnes, then there’s no way Steve or Tony would invite him over. Wade offered a way in that Bucky could only hope wasn’t illegal, like all his other plans.

Much to Bucky’s surprise, they walked right in the front door. Wade simply buzzed a button, waved at the security camera, and in they went. It took Bucky a second to recognize the young kid walking towards them, but a name slotted in place.

”Peter! Kid! What’re you doing here?” Bucky asked, a little too enthusiastically as he gave him a surprise hug. He still felt bad about the last time Steve and Tony got into an argument about Bucky and he ended up fighting the then-fifteen year-old. Tony and Steve eventually sorted shit out later that year, but Bucky took off not too long afterwards, deciding all anybody ever did when he was around was argue and get hurt. He wasn’t unreachable, but the team let him keep a distance. He hadn’t been in the Avenger’s base since he left.

Peter is muffled against Bucky’s shirt, but he manages to squeak out a response anyway. ”Oh, uh, hey Sergeant Barnes!”

”You’re a Sergeant? Were you even in the military?” Wade asked incredulously.

”I’ve known you for like two years, Wilson. I’ve worn my dog tags every single day of those two years.”

”Oh, those are real? I just figured you had a grunge aesthetic going on.. ordered them off of Etsy, or something,” Wade smirked. Bucky noticed that as he did so, his arm wrapped around Peter’s shoulders. The younger boy didn’t blush at all, nor did he push Wade away. He seemed comfortable, at ease. Bucky's eyebrow rose but other than that, the super soldier did nothing to acknowledge their companionship.

Wade, while aggravating and dense, could never be considered stupid or dumb. Not exactly. There was a reason Bucky hadn't known Wade was in a relationship with an Avenger and there was a reason Bucky was allowed to know now. Both probably had something to do with the fact that Wade's job relied on anonymity and his friends betted against his life, or maybe it was to do with Wade's character being defined with his hook-ups and friendships with hookers, but either way, Wade Wilson being in a relationship was dangerous and valuable information. Bucky didn't plan to toy with that.

 

* * *

 

"Ah good, the gang's all together," Stark finally said after managing to sit Bucky and Steve in the same room. Steve was sitting on the opposite side of the table, his arms crossed as he leaned back in his chair. Everything about his posture and expression screamed guarded and protective. Tony, meanwhile, was leaning against the wall with one foot over the other. "I just hate to see twins separated from each other." Tony's tone was dripping with sarcasm, per usual, as he mocked the identical expressions on Steve and Bucky's face. When Barnes heard Stark and Rogers were fighting about him, he'd assumed Steve would be on his side. Not the other way around.

Captain America's lips stayed tight in a line.

Stark sighed, throwing his arms in the air. "Are we going to talk like adults or are you two going to treat each other like children fighting over a toy?"

"Might I just say-" Wade began to cut in.

Tony whipped around and pointed a finger at him. "No you may not, Wilson. Sit the fuck down before I call FRIDAY in here to blow your skinny ass through the wall."

Bucky was impressed. He'd only ever seen Tony get that mad at Steve, when they were fighting, or Pepper, whenever his life started to crumble again and he blew up at her. Bucky was sure he'd never heard Tony swear that much in front of Peter. In response, Wade raised in his hands in defeat and sat back down. Peter glared at Tony and rubbed Wade's shoulder.

"My god, it's like we need a peace-keeper in this room," Peter mumbled.

"Yeah, more like a couple's therapist," Tony snipped back. "You two, out. I have no idea why you're even here." He gestured with his head that Wade and Peter should leave.

Wade's smirk slipped back in. "Sure, Spark-plug, I think that's a great idea. Peter can show me around, maybe visit his room while you all decide who's the manliest het here-"

"FRIDAY, please find somebody to escort Mr. Wilson the fuck out of my building," Tony groaned, rubbing his forehead in his hands.

The way Peter pitched "Mr. Stark!" was not unlike Veruca Salt insisting "Daddyyy!"

"Don't. Don't start with me, kid. Not today."

Wilson grumbled the whole way down to the front door, Bucky was sure. He figured two less people would reduce the tension, but the air only thickened as Steve and Bucky were under scrutinization from each other and Stark.

"If Nat was here she'd tell you you're being ridiculous," Bucky pointed out.

"Yeah? Well, not talking tends to be preferable to fighting," Steve snapped. His eyes wouldn't meet Bucky's; his face was turned to the side and he stared past the conference room's windows into the hallway, but he didn't seem to be seeing anything.

"There doesn't have to be a fight," Tony offered, but that was apparently the wrong thing to say.

Bucky and Steve both responded "It always ends in a fight," at the same time. The reference to Bucky's broken sigh three years ago, when he barely knew who he or his best friend were, went right over Stark's head. But Barnes didn't miss the prickling sensation in his chest or Steve's wince when they shared the sentence. "Why am I here?" Bucky finally asked. "I mean, why are we even doing this?"

"I don't know, you seemed to be doing pretty well living a hidden life from the rest of us." His voice was its usual steely, smooth rhythm. There were two voices that could come out of that body: Steve Rogers', the one that joked, was hot-headed and proud, told stories and cried; and Captain America's, unwavering, heroic, steady, calculated and ice-cold. His eyes would glint or freeze depending on which one he was shooting your direction, and everything about the situation screamed super-soldier to Bucky.

"Steve," Bucky tried softly. "I was living in the next city over. I didn't even remove any of Stark's trackers."

"You never answered my calls."

"You never called!" Barnes gave up. He had really tried, but come on Steve! What other response was there to give?

Steve finally looked at Bucky, trying to read him, his jaw set. "You didn't either. You're the one that left. You're supposed to call."

"No, I'm supposed to be the rebellious teenager that doesn't understand what's happening to his life and you're the friend who's supposed to call and worry."

"I'm not going to wait on you hand-and-foot, James. You're an adult. You're nearly a century old."

Bucky wouldn't admit how much the use of 'James' hurt. "Exactly!" Steve didn't seem to understand, so Bucky broke down the walls and leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he tried to explain the situation. "Look, you went through Puberty: Rebooted being trained and glorified and surrounded by the people who cared about you and doing what you wanted to. I spent Puberty: Rebooted being beaten and rewired and forced through horrific conditions neither of us want to talk about. Maybe we should, because you're clearly not getting it."

Steve continued his scowl. "We don't need to relive anything, Buck. It's just going to make you upset."

 _That_ made Bucky upset. Steve was treating him like a child, like he'd treated Banner when he first met the scientist. "I  _murdered_ Tony's parents. That was me, Steve, you already knew this. I was sent in to retrieve the serum from Howard any way I could and I murdered both of Tony's parents."

Both of the other people in the room shifted, Tony beginning to breathe like air hurt his lungs and Steve attempting to give excuses. "That wasn't you-"

"Yes. It was, Steve. I punched the shit out of you because I was trained to. Because you were my mission, and you know what?" Rogers didn't move. "You let me. I would've beaten you until you stopped moving, and you couldn't hit me back. You have to understand this."

"You were my friend-"

"And you were mine! Except I beat the shit out of you!"

"It wasn't your fault-"

"And who's was it?!" Bucky roared, finally, for the first time in eighty years, he yelled at Steve Rogers. "It was  _yours_!"

Tony moved towards the two, realizing how far this had gone. "Bucky, hey-"

"It was  _your_ fault, Stevie. You didn't find me soon enough. You let me fall off that train, you didn't go after me, you thought I was dead, you let HYDRA pull their shit for too long. You sacrificed yourself without a second thought and everybody forgot about me, Stevie. You were the one person who was always supposed to remember me. They all forgot about me, they forgot about Bucky Barnes until the only person anybody knew was The Winter Soldier--until I forgot about Bucky Barnes."

"I don't think we should-"

"Tony," it was a warning. "And then you got to wake up. I didn't, Rogers. I never got to wake up from that bad dream. Because when I did wake up, I never knew who or where or what I was. It was always another bad dream, and we were fighting each other or you were fighting for me or I was fighting myself. There is so much hate, so much violence in the world, Stevie. Don't you know that?"

Steve forced a breath out of his nose. He seemed to be holding back tears, but his gaze never left Bucky's. "I know, Buck. I know about the hate and the violence. I know that it's all my fault."

"He doesn't let himself forget it for a second, doesn't spend a night not dreaming about it," Tony added softly. "He reminds himself a hell of a lot more than you think, Barnes."

"Then you should know why I left. You should know that while your friends and saving the world is great, while your base is lovely, this has never been my home. The most comfortable I've ever been was when Nat would speak with me, when we got to have private conversations in Russian. That was familiar to me. Not Captain America or the Avengers or Tony Stark being an adult and not some kid I'd just orphaned. Boxing with Sam kept me grounded, training and hurting and killing were the only things that kept me tied here.

"So when I realized I could maybe go back to Bucky Barnes, The Kid From Brooklyn, I took it. I never wanted to break off from you all, I just needed a little space to relearn who I was and what had happened in the past seventy years. I thought you of all people would get that, Steve. But you never called and I realized maybe I'd hurt you. I never meant to."

 


End file.
